Bhubaneswar, June 24: Indian authorities have arrested an Afghan national at Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport for attempting to enter the country using a forged Indian passport, officials said on Monday.
The suspect, identified as Mohammad Yousaf, 54, was detained on Saturday after arriving from Dubai on IndiGo flight 6E-1488. He was travelling under the alias Yaha Khan and presented a counterfeit Indian passport listing him as a resident of Cuttack, Odisha, according to police.
During a routine immigration check, officers grew suspicious and initiated a background verification, which revealed a lookout circular (LOC) had previously been issued from Kolkata airport. Further investigation confirmed Yousaf’s actual identity and Afghan nationality, police said.
Yousaf allegedly entered India illegally in 2018 and had been living in Peyton Sahi, Buxi Bazar area of Cuttack, under a fabricated Indian identity. He had reportedly obtained multiple forged documents, including an Aadhaar card, PAN, Voter ID, Driving Licence, and the Indian passport under the false name.
“He was residing in India undetected and used these documents to travel, conduct business, and open bank accounts,” said a senior police official involved in the investigation. Authorities are concerned the forged documents could have been used for espionage, smuggling, or other unlawful activities amid rising national security threats.
During interrogation, Yousaf is said to have confessed to fabricating the documents. Police recovered fake identity cards, foreign currencies, ₹80,000 in cash, a smartphone, two gold earrings, a motorcycle registration certificate, and several bank documents in the forged name.
The accused was produced before a local court and remanded to judicial custody. Police said further investigations are underway to determine whether he was supported by a wider network or linked to any covert operations. “We are probing whether the accused was part of a larger sleeper cell or engaged in illegal intelligence gathering,” the official added.
